At the opening of Paul Cornell's LONDON FALLING, a long-
term undercover investigation leads to the arrest of
organized crime kingpin Rob Toshack. Just as he is about
to confess, Toshack dies under mysterious circumstances in
a police interrogation room. It appears that Toshack
spontaneously exploded. Once obvious causes like poison
are ruled out, Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross are told
that they will be part of a new unit. Their first order of
business is to investigate Toshack's death. In the course
of their investigation, they find Toshack's mysterious
associate, a witch who has a penchant for sacrificing
children and murdering players from opposing teams to
avenge her favorite football club.
During their search of the witch's home, the unit
inadvertently stumbles across something that gives them the
Sight. Suddenly, they are seeing dark forces at work in
the city that no one else can see. The characters' police
training and procedures clash with the supernatural
elements that they are fighting. Tension builds as the
characters' individual backstories and the current plot
come together. London serves as a perfect backdrop for
this gritty urban fantasy story, and the ending leaves
plenty of room for the series to expand with the sequel.
The story's opening chapters are difficult to follow. The
characters are introduced very quickly at the beginning of
the story, and it is often difficult to understand who is
who because the narrative rapidly shifts among them. The
story seems like one that would play better for a
television audience, which makes sense given Cornell's
experience as a television writer. Readers who stick with
it will soon find that the action later in the story is
well worth the wait. Overall, LONDON FALLING is a
promising start to a dark urban fantasy series, but some
readers may find it difficult to stick with it long enough
to see the payoff.
Police officers Quill, Costain, Sefton, and Ross know the
worst of London—or they think they do. While investigating a
mobster's mysterious death, they come into contact with a
strange artifact and accidentally develop the Sight.
Suddenly they can see the true evil haunting London’s
streets.
Armed with police instincts and procedures, the four
officers take on the otherworldly creatures secretly
prowling London. Football lore and the tragic history of a
Tudor queen become entwined in their pursuit of an age-old
witch with a penchant for child sacrifice. But when London’s
monsters become aware of their meddling, the officers must
decide what they are willing to sacrifice to clean up their
city.
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